Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa dies aged 74
FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2007 file photo, Argentina’s famed fold singer Mercedes Sosa gives a press conference in Quito, Ecuador. Trinidad clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina confirmed on Oct. 1, 2009 that Sosa was hospitalized 12 days ago with liver problems. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa, File)
( / AP)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina —
Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, the “voice of Latin America” whose music inspired opponents of South America’s brutal military regimes and led to her forced exile in Europe, has died. She was 74.
A family statement says Sosa died on Sunday in a Buenos Aires Hospital.
Sosa was best known for signature tunes such as “Gracias a la Vida” (“Thanks to Life”) and “Si se calla el cantor” (“If the Singer Quiets”). She had been in the hospital for more than two weeks with liver problems and had since been suffering from progressive kidney failure and cardiac arrest.
Her latest album, “Cantora 1,” is nominated for three prizes in next month’s Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas, including album of the year and best folkloric album.